Mewar 19: Battle of Khamnor
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Mewar 19: Battle of Khamnor
Renewed Attack by Jahangir. Battle of Khamnor
To return. These defeats alarmed Jahangir, who determined to equip an overwhelming force to crush the Rana. To this end he raised the imperial standard at Ajmer, and assembled the expedi tion under his immediate inspection, of which he appointed his son Parvez commander, with instructions on departure " that if the Rana or his elder son Karan should repair to him, to receive them with becoming attention, and to offer no molestation to the country." ^ But the Sesodia prince little thought of sub mission : on the contrary, flushed with success, he gave the royal army the meeting at a spot oft moistened with blood, the pass of Khamnor,2 leading into the heart of the hills. The imperial army was disgracefully beaten, and fled, pursued with great havoc, towards Ajmer. The Mogul historian admits it to have been a glorious day for Mewar. He describes Parvez entangled in the passes, dissensions in his camp, his supplies cut off, and under all [360] these disadvantages attacked ; his pre cipitate flight and pursuit, in which the royal army lost vast numbers of men.3 But Jahangir in his diary slurs it over, and 1 A.D. 1611. 2 Translated ' Brampoor ' in Dow's Ferishta, and transferred to the Deccan ; and the pass {bdla-ghat) rendered the Balaghat mountains of the south. There are numerous similar errors. [The Author seems to be mis taken. Dow (iii. 39) speaks of " Brampour, the capital of the Rana's dominions." Khamnor is in W. Mewar, a little distance south of Nath dwara.] 3 The details of battles, unless accompanied by exploits of individuals, are very uninteresting. Under this impression, I have suppressed whatever could impair the current of action by amphfication, otherwise not only the Rajput bard, but the contemporary Mogul historian, would have afforded abundant matter ; but I have deemed both worthy of neglect in such cases. Ferishta's history is throughout most faulty in its geographical details, rendered still more obscure from the erroneous orthography, often arising from mistaken punctuation of the only translation of this valuable work yet before the public. There is one gentleman (Lieut. -Col. Briggs) well quali fied to remedy these defects, and who, with a laudable industry, has made simply remarks : " Fearing that Khusrau's affair might be pro longed, I ordered my son Parwiz to leave some of the Sardars to look after the Rana, and to come to Agra with Asaf Khan and a body of those nearly connected with him in the service." 1
This son, tutored by the great Mahabat Khan, fared no better
than Parvez ; he was routed and slain. But the Hydra was
indestructible ; for every victory, while it cost the best blood of
Mewar, only multiplied the number of her foes. Seventeen
pitched battles had the illustrious Rajput fought since the death
of his father : but the loss of his experienced veterans withered
the laurels of victory, nor had he sufficient repose either to
husband his resources or to rear his young heroes to replace
them. Another and yet more mighty army was assembled
under Prince Kliurram, the ablest of the sons of Jahangir, and
better known in history as Shah Jahan, when emperor of the
Moguls.
Again did the Rana with his son Karan collect the might of their hills ; but a handful of warriors was all their muster to meet the host of Delhi, and the ' crimson banner,' which for more than eight hundred years had waved in proud independence over the heads of the Guhilots, was now to be abased to the son of Jahangir. The Emperor's own pen shall narrate the termination of this strife. " My chief object, after my visit to the Khwaja [the tomb of Mu'inu-d-dln Chishti, the saint of Ajmer] was to put a stop to the affair of the rebel Rana. On this account I determined to remain myself at Ajmlr and send on Baba Khurram, my fortunate son. This idea was a very good one, and on this account, on the 6th of Day [tenth month of the solar year] at the hour fixed on, I dispatched him in happiness and triumph. I presented him with a qaba (outer coat) of gold brocade with jewelled flowers and pearls round the flowers, a brocaded turban with strings of pearls, a gold woven sash with chains of pearls, one of my private elephants called Fath Gaj, with trappings, a splendid horse, a an entire translation of the works of Ferishta, besides collating the best MSS. of the original text. It is to be hoped he will present his performance to the public. [This appeared in four volumes, 1829; reprinted, Calcutta, 1908.] ^ [Memoirs of Jalmnglr, trans. Rogers-Beveridge, p. 70. The incorrect versions of this and other passages in the text have been replaced from the recent translation and that in Elliot-Dowson.] jewelled sword, with a phul katdra (dagger). In addition to the men first appomted to this duty under the leadership of Khan A'zam, I sent 12,000 more horse with my son, and honoured their khil'at (wearing robes of honour) leaders." 1
On 14th Isfandarmuz [twelfth month of the solar year] " a representation came from my son Baba Khurram that the elephant 'Alam Guman [' arrogant of the earth '], of which the Rana was very fond, together with seventeen 'Alamguman other elephants, had fallen into the hands of the victorious army." 2 Jahangir rode this elephant on the second day of the New Year, which began on 21st March 1614.3
" In the month of Bahman [eleventh solar month] there came pieces of good news, one after the other. The first was that the Rana Amar Singh had elected for obedience and service to the Court. The circumstances of this affair are these. Sultan KhuiTam, by dint of placing a great inany posts, especially in some places where most people said it was impossible to place them on account of the badness of the air and water and the wild nature of the localities, and by dmt of moving the royal forces one after another in pursuit, without regard to the heat or ex cessive rain, and making prisoners of the inhabitants of that region, brought matters with the Rana to such a pass that it became clear to him that if this should happen to him again he must either fly the country or be made prisoner. Being without remedy, he chose obedience and loyalty, and sent to my fortunate son his maternal uncle Subhkaran, with Haridas Jhala, who was one of the two men in his confidence, and petitioned that if that fortunate son would ask forgiveness for his offences and tran quillize his mind, and obtain for him the auspicious sign-manual (panja,4 the mark of the Emperor's five fingers), he would himself 1 [Memoirs, 256.] 2 [Ibid. 259.] 3 [Ibid. 2G0.] 4 The giving the hand amongst all nations has been considered as a pledge for the iDerformance or ratification of some act of importance, and the custom amongst the Scythic or Tatar nations, of transmitting its impress as a substitute, is here practically described. I have seen the identical Farman in the Rana's archives. The hand being immersed in a compost of sandal wood, is appUed to the paper, and the palm and five fingers (panja) are yet distinct. In a masterly dehneation of Oriental manners {Camels Letters from the East) is given an anecdote of Muhammad, who, unable to sign his name to a convention, dipped his hand in ink, and made an impression therewitli. It is evident the Prophet of Islam only followed an ancient solemnity, of the same import as that practised by Jahangir. wait on my son, and would send his son and successor, Karan Singh, or he, after the manner of other Rajas, would be enrolled among the servants of the Court and do service. He also begged that he himself might be excused from coming to Court on account of his old age. Accordingly, my son sent them in company with his own Dlwan, Mulla Shukru-llah, whom after the conchision of this business I dignified with the title of Afzal Khan, and Sundar Das, his major-domo, who, after the matter was settled, was honoured with the title of Ray Rayan, to the exalted Court, and represented the circumstances. My lofty mind was always desirous, as far as possible, not to destroy the old families. The real point was that as Rana Amar Singh and his fathers, proud in the strength of the hilly country and their abodes, had never seen or obeyed any of the kings of Hindustan, this should be brought about in my reign. At the request of my son, I forgave the Rana's offences, and gave a gracious farman that should satisfy him, and impressed on it the mark of my auspicious palm. I also wrote a farman of kindness to my son that if he could arrange to settle the matter I should be much pleased. My son also sent them [perhaps the uncle and Haridas, or the farmans] with Mulla Shukru-llah and Sundar Das to the Rana to console him and make him hopeful of the royal favour. They gave him the gracious farman with the sign-manual of the auspicioiis hand, and it was settled that on Sunday, the 26th of the month Bahman, he and his sons should come and pay their respects to my son." 1
" In the end of this month, when I was employed in hunting in the environs of Ajmlr, Muhammad Beg, an attendant on my fortunate son Sultan Khurram, came and brought a report from that son, and stated that the Rana had come with his sons and paid his respects to the prince : the details would be made known by the report. I immediately turned the face of supplication to the Divine Court, and prostrated myself in thanksgiving. I presented a horse, an elephant, and a jewelled dagger to the aforesaid Muhammad Khan, and honoured him with the title of Zu-1-faqar Khan [' Lord of the sword ']."2
" From the report it appeared that on Sunday the 26th Bah man, the Rana paid his respects to my fortunate son with the politeness and ritual that servants pay their respects, and pro 1 [3Iemoirs, 272 £f.] 2 [Ibid . 275.] duced as offerings a famous large ruby that was in his house, with some decorated articles and seven elephants, some of them fit for the private stud, and which had not fallen into our hands, and were the only ones left him, and nine horses. My son also behaved to him with perfect kindness. When the Rana clasped his feet and asked forgiveness for his faults, he took his hand and placed it on his breast, and consoled him in such a manner as to comfort him. He presented him with a superb dress of honour, a jewelled sword, a horse with a jewelled saddle, and a private elephant with silver housings, and as there were not more than 100 men with him who were worthy of complete robes of honour, he gave 100 sarupd [dresses] and 50 horses and 12 jewelled khapivd [daggers]. As it is the custom of the Zamlndars 1 that the son who is the heir-apparent should not go with his father to pay his respects to a king or prince,- the Rana observed this custom, and did not bring with him Karan, the son who had received the tlkd [forehead mark of inauguration]. As the hour (fixed by astrology) of his departure of that son of lofty fortune from that place was the end of that same day, he gave him leave, so that, having himself gone, he might send Karan to pay his respects. To hun also he gave a superb dress of honour, a jewelled sword and dagger, a horse with a gold saddle, and a special ele phant, and on the same day, taking Karan in attendance, he proceeded towards the illustrious Court." 3
" In my mterview with Sultan Khurram on his arrival at Ajmer,* he represented that if it was my pleasure he would present the prince Karan, whom I accordingly desired him to bring. He arrived, paid his respects, and his rank was commanded to be, at the request of my son, immediately on my right hand, and I rewarded him with suitable khilats. As Karan, owing to the rude life he had led in his native hills, was extremely shy, and unused to the pageantry and experience of a court, in order to reconcile and give him confidence I daily gave him some testimonies of my
1 [The Rana is purposely treated as a mere landowner under the State.] 2 This was to avoid treachery. I have often had the honour to receive the descendant princes, father and son, ' of these illustrious ones ' together (note by the Author). 3 [Memoirs, 275 f.] 4 [The remaining part of the narrative is fairly correct, and has been allowed to stand, with necessary corrections in transliteration of proper names.] regard and protection, and in the second day of his service I gave him a jewelled dagger, and on the third a choice steed of Irak with rich caparisons ; and on the same day, I took him with me to the queen's court, when the queen, Nur Jahan, made him si^lendid khilats, elephant and horse caparisoned, sword, etc. The same day I gave him a rich necklace of pearls, another day an elephant, and it was my wish to give him rarities and choice things of every kind. I gave him three royal hawks and three gentle falcons trained to the hand,1 a coat of mail, chain and plate armour, and two rings of value ; and, on the last day of the month, carpets, state cushions, perfumes, vessels of gold, and a pair of the bullocks of Gujarat.2
" 10th year.3 At this time I gave prince Karan leave to return to his jagir ; 4 when I bestowed on him an elephant, horse, and a pearl necklace valued at 50,000 rupees (£5000) ; and from the day of his repairing to my court to that of his departure, the value of the various gifts I presented him exceeded ten laklis of rupees (£125,000), exclusive of one hundred and ten horses, five elephants, or what my son lOiurram gave him. I sent Mubarik Khan along with [364] him, by whom I sent an elephant, horse, etc., and various confidential messages to the Rana. " On the 8th Safar of the 10th year of the h. 1024 Karan was elevated to the dignity of a Mansabdar * of five thousand, when I presented him with a bracelet of pearls, in which was a ruby of great price. " 24th Muharram,' 10th year (a.d. 1615), Jagat Sing, son of Karan, aged twelve years, arrived at court and paid his respects, and presented the arzis of his father and grandfather, Rana Amra Singh. His countenance carried the impression of his 1 Baz and Tura. 2 [On the famous oxen of Gujarat see Forbes, Rasmala, 540; Watt, Comm. Prod. 733 ff.] 3 Of his reign. 4 Such was now the degraded title of the ancient, independent sovereign Mewar. Happy Partap, whose ashes being mingled with his parent earth, was spared his country's humiliation ! 5 [The second mouth of the Musalman calendar.] 6 With this the annals state the restoration of many districts : the Kherar, Phulia, Badnor, Mandalgarh, Jiran, Nimach, and Bhainsror, with supremacy over DeoMa, and Dungarpur. 7 [The first month of the Muhammadan year.] illustrious extraction,1 and I delighted his heart with presents and kindness.
1 It must have been this grandson of Amra of whom Six Thomas Roe thus writes : " The right issue of Porus is here a king m the midst of the Mogul's dominions, never subdued till last year ; and, to say the truth, he is rather bought than conquered : won to own a superior by gifts and laot by arms. The pillar erected by Alexander is yet standing at Delhi, the ancient seat of Rama, the successor of Porus " {Extract of a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, dated at Ajmere, January 29, 1615).
Copy of a letter written by the great Mogul unto King James, in the Persian tongue, here faithfully translated, which was as follows : " Unto a king rightly descended from his ancestors, bred in mihtary affairs, clothed with honour and justice, a commander worthy of all com mand, strong and constant in the rehgion which the great prophet Christ did teach. King James, whose love hath bred such an impression in my thoughts as shall never be forgotten ; but as the smell of amber, or as a garden of fragrant flowers, whose beauty and odour is still increasing, so, be assured, my love shall still grow and increase with yours.
" The letters which you sent me in the behalf of your merchants I have received, whereby I rest satisfied of your tender love towards me, desiring you not to take it ill, that I have not wrote to you heretofore : this present letter I send to you to renew our loves, and herewith do certifie you, that I have sent forth my firmaunes throughout all my countries to this effect, that if any English ships or merchants shall arrive in any of my ports, my people shall permit and suffer them to do what they please, freely in their merchandising causes, aiding and assisting them in all occasion of injuries that shall be offered them, that the least cause of discourtesie be not done unto them ; that they may be as free, or freer than my own people.
" And as now, and formerly, I have received from you divers tokens of your love ; so I shall still desire your mmdfulness of me by some novelties from your countries, as an argument of friendship betwixt us, for such is the custom of princes here.
" And for your merchants, I have given express order through all my dominions, to suffer them to buy, sell, transport, and carry away at their pleasure, without the lett or hinderance of any person whatsoever, all such goods and merchandises as they shall desire to buy ; and let this my letter as fully satisfie you in desired peace and love, as if my own son had been messenger to ratifie the same.
" And if any in my countries, not fearing God, nor obeying their king, or any other void of rehgion, should endeavour to be an instrument to break this league of friendship, I would send my son Sultan Caroom, a souldier approved in the wars, to cut him off, that no obstacle may hinder the con tinuance and increase of our affections.
" When your majesty shall open this letter, let your royal heart be as fresh as a small garden, let all people make reverence at your gate. Let your throne be advanced higher. Amongst the greatness of the kings of the prophet Jesus, let your majesty be the greatest ; and all monarchs derive their wisdom and counsel from your breast, as from a fountain, that " On the 10th Shaban,^ Jagat Singh had permission to return to his house. At his departure I presented him with 20,000 rupees, a horse, elephant, and khilats [365] ; and to Haridas Jhala, preceptor of Prince Karan, 5000 rupees, a horse, and khilat ; and I sent by him six golden images 2 to the Rana.
" 28th Rabiu-1-Akhir, 3 11th year. The statues of the Rana and Karan, sculptured in zvhite marble, I desired should have inscribed the date in which they were jjrejyared and presented, and commanded they should be placed in the gardens at Agra.'4
" In the 11th year of my reign an arzi from Itimad Khan acquainted me that Sultan Khurram had entered the Rana's country, and that prince and his son had both exchanged visits with my son ; and that from the tribute, consisting of seven elephants, twenty-seven saddle horses, trays of jewels, and ornaments of gold, my son took three horses and returned all the rest, and engaged that Prince Karan and fifteen hundred Rajput horse should remain with him in the wars.
" In the 13th year Prince Karan repaired to my court, then at Sindla, to congratulate me on my victories and conquest of the Deccan, and presented 100 mohars,^ 1000 rupees, nazarana, and effects in gold and jewels to the amount of 21,000 rupees, hardy the law of the majesty of Jesus may receive, and flourish under your pro tection. " The letters of love and friendship which you sent me, the present tokens of your good affection towards me, I have received by the hands of your ambassadour, Sir Thomas Row, who weU deserveth to be j^our trusty servant, dehvered to me in an acceptable and happy hour ; upon which mine eyes were so fixed, that I could not easily remove them unto any other objects, and have accepted them with great joy and dehght, etc."
The last letter had this beginning : " How gracious is your majesty, whose greatness God preserve. As upon a rose in a garden, so are mine eyes fixed upon you. God maintain your estate, that your monarchy may prosper and be augmented ; and that you may obtain all your desires worthy the greatness of your renown ; and as the heart is noble and upright, so let God give you a glorious reign, because you strongly defend the law of the majesty of Jesus, which God made yet more flourishing, for that it was confirmed by miracles, etc." {Delia Valle, p. 473). 1 [Sha'ban, the eighth month.] 2 There are frequent mention of such images (puilis), but I know not which they are. [The word in the original is SJioshpari, ' golden maces.'] 3 [The fourth month.] 4 [On these statues see Smith, HFA, 42G ff.] 5 Golden suns, value £1 : 12s.
elephants and horses ; the last I returned, but kept the rest, and next daj' presented him a dress of honour ; and from Fatehpur gave him his leave, with elephant, horse, sword, and dagger, and a horse for his father. " 14th year of my reign. On the 17th Rabiu-1-awwal, 1 1029 h., I received intelligence of the death of Rana Amra Singh.2 To Jagat Singh, his grandson, and Bhim Singh, his son, in attendance, I gave khilats, and dispatched Raja Kishordas 3 with the farman conferring benefits and with the dignity of Rana, the khilat of investiture, choice horses, and a letter of condolence suitable to the occasion to Prince Karan. 7th Shawwal.4 Biharidas Brahman I dispatched with a [366] farman to Rana Karan, desiring that his son with his contingent should attend me."
Treatment of the Rana by Jahangir
To have generalized this detail of the royal historian would have been to lessen the interest of this important period in the annals of Mewar. Jahangir merits to have his exultation, his noble and unostentatious conduct, described by his own pen, the extreme minuteness of which description but increases the interest. With his self gratulation, he bears full testimony to the gallant and long protracted resistance of the Rajputs ; and while he impartially, though rather erroneously, estimates their motives and means of opposition, he does Amra ample justice in the declaration, that he did not yield until he had but the alternative of captivity or exile ; and with a magnanimity above all praise, he records the Rajput prince's salvo for his dignity, " that he would hold himself excused from attending in person." The simple and naive declaration of his joy, " his going abroad on Alam Guman," the favourite elephant of the Rana which had been captured, on learning his submission, is far stronger than the most pompous testimony of public rejoicing. But there is a heart-stirring philanthropy in the conduct of the Mogul which does him im mortal honour ; and in commanding his son " to treat the illustrious one according to his heart's wishes," though he so long and so signally had foiled the roj'al armies, he proved himself worthy of the good fortune he acknowledges, and well shows his
1 [The third month.] 2 |-He died in 1620.] 3 Increasing the respect to the Ranas by making a prince the bearer of the farman. 4 [The tenth month.] sense of the superiority of the chief of all the Rajputs, by placing the heir of Mewar, even above all the princes of his own house, ' immediately on his right hand.' Whether he attempts to relieve the shyness of Karan, or sets forth the princely appearance of Jagat Singh, we see the same amiable feeling operating to lighten the chains of the conquered. But the shyness of Karan deserved a worthier term : he felt the degradation which neither the statues raised to them, the right hand of the monarch, the dignity of a ' commander of five thousand,' or even the restoration of the long-alienated territory could neutralize, when the kingdom to which he was heir was called a fief (jagir), and himself, ' the descendant of a hundred kings,' a vassal (jagirdar) of the empire, under whose banner, which his ancestors had so signally opposed, he was now to follow with a contingent of fifteen hundred Rajput horse.
Seldom has subjugated royalty met with such consideration ; yet, to a lofty mind like Amra's, this courteous condescension but increased the severity of endurance [367]. In the bitterness of his heart he cursed the magnanimity of lOiurram, himself of Rajput blood ^ and an admirer of Rajput valour, which circum stance more than the force of his arms had induced him to sur render ; for Khurram demanded but the friendship of the Rajput as the price of peace, and to withdraw every Muhammadan from Mewar if the Rana would but receive the emperor's farman outside of his capital. This his proud soul rejected ; and though he visited Prince Khurram as a friend, he spurned the proposition of acknowledging a superior, or receiving the rank and titles
Rather than be less.
Cared not to be at all
took the resolution to abdicate 2 the throne he could no longer hold but at the will of another. Assembling his chiefs, and
1 Khurram was son of a Rajput princess of Amber [whose name, accord ing to Beale, was Balmati] of the Kachhwaha tribe, and hence his name was probably Kurm, synonymous to kachhwa, a tortoise. The bards are always punning upon it. [The Persian word khurram, ' glad, joyful,' has, of course, no connexion with Hindi kurm, ' a tortoise.'] 2 Surrendered S. 1672, a.d. 1G16 (according to Dow, S. 1669, a.d. 1613) ; died 1621 [1620. There seems to bo no corroboration of his abdication.] disclosing his determination, he made the tika on his son's fore head ; and observing that the honour of Mewar was now in his hands, forthwith left the capital and secluded himself in the Nauchauki : ^ nor did he from that hour cross its threshold, but to have his ashes deposited with those of his fathers.
Character of Rana Amar Singh
All comment is superfluous on such a character as Rana Amra. He was worthy of Partap and his race. He possessed all the physical as well as mental qualities of a hero, and was the tallest and strongest of all the princes of Mewar. He was not so fair as they usually are, and he had a reserve bordering upon gloominess, doubtless occasioned by his reverses, for it was not natural to him ; he was beloved by his chiefs for the qualities they most esteem, generosity and valour, and by his subjects for his justice and kindness, of which we can judge from his edicts, many of which yet live on the column or the rock [368].
